Tack rag



Patented Apr. 7, 1953 Charles C. Wright, Buena Park, and Paul Dickerson, Los Angeles, Calif assignors to Detro Manufacturing & Sales (30., Inc., Culver City,

- Califi, a corporation of California No Drawing. Application October 24, 1949,

Serial No. 123,298

6 Claims. (Cl.- 15'209) This invention relates to tack rags, and is particularly directed to a tack rag which is nonspontaneously combustible and non-inflammable.

In order to obtain a smooth painted or varnished surface it is necessary to first remove all dust, lint and sanding particles from the surface to be treated. Tack rags have been used for many years for this purpose in the painting and varnishing art. Originally, the finisher would merely dip a cloth in varnish, drain off the excess, and allow the cloth to air dry until the cloth had become sufliciently sticky or tacky for use in wiping the proposed surface free of all foreign matter. This practice is highly disadvantageous since the cloths soon dry and become useless. Furthermore, such cloths are highly combustible and a constant source of danger if not properly handled and disposed of.

Applicants are familiar with the advances in the art, and are aware that at the present time tack rags are commercially available. These consist of cloth impregnated with oils and other substances which have a low vapor pressure so that the cloth will remain soft and tacky indefinitely. None of these commercially available tack rags are non-inflammable, however.

The principal object of our invention is, therefore, to provide a tack rag which is non-inflammable.

Another object of our invention is to provide a non-inflammable tack rag which will remain tacky indefinitely at all normal temperatures.

A further object of our invention is to provide a non-inflammable tack rag which will clean a surface of all dust, lint and other foreign particles while leaving no deposit on the surface.

Another object of our invention is to provide a non-inflammable tack rag which is non-injurious to the user.

It is a further object of our invention to provide anon-inflammable tack rag which is inexpensive and adapted to production on a quantity basis.

We have discovered that chlorinated phenyls, particularly chlorinated biphenyls and triphenyls,

which are made by the controlled chlorination of biphenyl and triphenyl, may be used as tackifiers. By the word tackifier we mean a substance which is normally sticky, or tacky, and which may be used to impregnate cloth. A wide range of these materials are commercially available, varying from mobile oils to solid resins, depending upon the degree of chlorination. Practically all of these substances are non-inflammable at or below their boiling points. We have found also that certain chlorinated parafiins may be used as the tackifiers in a non-inflammable tack rag.

A satisfactory tackifier should be tacky at all normal temperatures, but should be sufficiently stiff to be retained on the cloth without adhering to the surface to be cleaned. Chlorinated biphenyls containing approximately to chlorine by weight have these properties due in part to the fact that such materials have pour points slightly above normal room temperature, or in the range of 25 C.-40 C. These materials do not crystallize but with decreasing temperature become increasingly viscous until a point of immobility is reached, still retaining the appearance of a liquid. Other commercially available chlorinated biphenyls have pour points either above or below the desired range, but they may be compounded with each other to produce a substance having satisfactory physical characteristics. Any desired degree of softness or stiffness may be obtained by incorporating varying percentages of either or both of the more solid or more liquid members of the series. The chlorinated triphenyls are generally too viscous to be used alone but may be combined with other materials to provide a satisfactory tackifier.

In providing a completely non-inflammable tack rag it is desirable that the cloth itself be treated to prevent flaming of the cloth after the tackifier has been distilled off when the tack rag is subjected to high temperatures. In order to obtain this end we first treat the cloth, which may be an absorbent material such as cheesecloth, with a flame-retardant such as a 3% water solution of a 10:12 mixture of sodium borate and boric acid. The cloth is then dried and dipped in the tackifier.

A preferred tackifier consists of a solution of chlorinated triphenyl and polystyrene. The triphenyl contains approximately 42% chlorine and is somewhat stiff for use at normal temperatures. In order to reduce the viscosity to a satisfactory point, we prefer to use polystyrene, although our invention is not limited thereto since there are other materials known to those skilled in the art which may be used. A preferred solution is composed of approximately 88% chlorinated triphenyl and approximately 12% polystyrene.

We have also found that chlorinated parafilns having pour points in the range 25 C.-40 C., and containing 54-60% chlorine by weight are sufficiently tacky to be used as the tackifier in a non-inflammable tack rag.

Having fully described our invention, it is to be understood that we do not wish to be limited 3 to the details herein set forth, but our invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a tack rag comprising: a fibrous web which is impregnated with a tackifier consisting of chlorinated biphenyls containing approximately 60-65% chlorine by weight.

2. As an article of manufacture, a tack rag comprising: a fibrous web which is impregnated with a tackifier consisting of chlorinated triphenyls containing approximately 42% chlorine by weight and polystyrene in suflicient. amount to reduce the pour pint of the chlorinated triphenyl to between 25 C.-40 C.

3. As an article of manufacture, a tack rag comprising: a fibrous web which is' impregnated with a tackifier consisting of chlorinated paraffins having a pour pint in the range 25 C.-40 C. and containing 54-60% chlorine by weight.

4. As an article of manufacture, a tack ra comprising: a fibrous web which is impregnated with a tackifier selected from the group consisting of' chlorinated biphenyls, chlorinated triphenyls, chlorinated paraffins, and mixtures thereof, said tackifier having a pour pint between approximately 25 C. and approximately 40 C.

5. As an article of manufacture, a tack rag comprising: a fibrous web which is impregnated with a tackifier selected from the group consisting of chlorinated biphenyls. containing approximately 60-65% chlorine by weight, chlorinated triphenyls containing approximately 42% chlorine by weight and chlorinated paramns containing 54-60% chlorine by weight.

6. As. an article of manufacture, a tack rag comprising: a fibrous web which is impregnated with a flame-retarding chemical consisting of a 10:12 mixture of sodium borate and boric acid, and with a tackifier selected from the group consisting of chlorinated biphenyls containing approximately 60-65% chlorine by weight, chlorinated triphenyls containing approximately 42% chlorine by weight and chlorinated paraffins containing 54,-60% chlorine by weight.

CHARLES C. WRIGHT. PAUL DICKERSON.

No references cited. 

